The death toll from the Sewol ferry disaster rose to 213 Thursday, leaving 89 people still unaccounted for.

In the early hours of the day, divers found a body thought to be that of a Danwon High School student from a cabin on the fourth deck of the sunken ferry Sewol.

The ship sank some 20 kilometers off the coast of Jindo Island, South Jeolla Province on April 16. The vessel was carrying 476 passengers and crew members.

The majority of the passengers were students and teachers from Danwon High School in Ansan, Gyeonggi Province who were on a school trip to Jejudo Island.

The search is to continue throughout the day with the authorities focusing on cabins in the center and left side of the ship’s fourth deck.

So far rescue workers have completed searching 44 of the 64 cabins that are considered likely to have been occupied at the time of the accident.

The authorities were also able to deploy a diving bell, the use of which has caused some controversy, for the first time.

At about 3:20 a.m. Thursday, a diving bell was deployed allowing divers to remain underwater for two hours.

By Choi He-suk (cheesuk@heraldcorp.com)